Fox Doesn’t Tell The Whole Story About Greg Abbott’s Effort To Ban ‘Sanctuary Cities’ In Texas

Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) got a friendly perch on Fox News to talk about his plan to ban sanctuary cities in Texas.

As Media Matters has documented, multiple experts and government officials have confirmed that “sanctuary city” policies do not conflict with federal immigration law. The Washington Post notes that “sanctuary city” laws go back to the days of slavery and the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the federal government cannot require state or localities to cooperate with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency or require compliance with its directives.

But none of that was mentioned by host Neil Cavuto as he discussed Abbott’s plan on Fox yesterday.

Cavuto acknowledged a Texas law would likely face legal difficulties but he skated away from any serious questioning of Abbott’s plan:

CAVUTO: These are difficult, I guess, sir, to hold up in court or at least they get stymied in legal challenges. How do you think this is going to go?

That allowed Abbott to make his argument unfettered by challenges:

ABBOTT: I think under the United States Supreme Court decision in the Arizona case, they were perfectly clear that states have the authority to ensure the security and safety of our citizens, and so I think banning sanctuary cities should be upheld in court, and Texas is going to be one of the states that passes a law that outlaws sanctuary cities because it’s fundamental that law enforcement officers in this state must follow and apply the Constitutional laws of the United States and of the state of Texas.

Cavuto helped validate Abbott’s position by saying that he doesn’t understand sanctuary cities because they “flagrantly violate, to your point, Governor, the law, and they shield people who are here illegally without a law to support what they’re doing, so it’s weird.” Perhaps if Cavuto had done a simple Google search he might have understood better.

Also not mentioned? Abbott has not exactly been eager to undertake this policy. Associated Press has noted that Abbott “aggressively courted Hispanic voters last year with an emphasis unmatched by a Texas Republican since George W. Bush was governor” and “deflected questions about proposals by saying he would look at any bill and described sanctuary cities as a symptom of the federal government not securing the border.” The Texas Tribune further noted that “Abbott’s office said any reforms will have to wait until the Legislature meets again in regular session in early 2017.” However, the Tribune also reported that Abbott is “under increasing pressure from conservative activists in his party to act more quickly” and call a special legislative session.

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Abbott said, “Texas is going to be one of the states that passes a law that outlaws sanctuary cities because it’s fundamental that law enforcement officers in this state must follow and apply the Constitutional laws of the United States and of the state of Texas.”

Except, of course, the “Constitutional laws of the United States” that Texas feels it doesn’t need to follow—like marriage equality.